


Partners

by sinemoras09



Series: 100 Souls [3]
Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fix-It, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-09
Updated: 2009-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-20 06:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30000633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinemoras09/pseuds/sinemoras09
Summary: Mifune adjusts to life at Shibusen. Gen. Anime-verse, post-series. AU.
Relationships: Angela Leon & Mifune, Mifune & Excalibur, Mifune & Spirit Albarn | Death Scythe
Series: 100 Souls [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2206902





	1. Partners

There was a sound, a rustling of leaves, and though Mifune was alone, he could still hear the whisper of a threat in the footfall behind him.

"Mifune-san!"

Mifune gritted his teeth, and turned. Spirit was behind him, all dopey grins and waving happily. "Oi! Partner! We're supposed to be training! Where are you going?"

"Nowhere," Mifune said. (Somewhat sourly, but that was par for the course.) Spirit shrugged, nonplussed.

"Hey, maybe after this we can go get a couple drinks? What do you say? Just me and you and a couple of the ladies to keep us company! Eh?"

"No," Mifune said.

"Tch. You think you're too good to hang out with me. Just you wait. We'll find you a woman yet!" Spirit said. Mifune glared.

"It is your weakness for drinking that got you divorced," Mifune said. "Do not speak to me of these things. It is a waste of my time."

"Kill joy," Spirit said.

Mifune ignored him, and tramped stonily through the brush.

*****

Just the week before, Shinigami-sama in all his wisdom declared that Mifune should train as a technician. "We all know your skills are top-notch," Shinigami-sama had said. "But there may come a time you'll need to work with a partner." In all honesty, Mifune didn't mind training with Spirit - the man was just as skilled as he was, and had the added benefit of being able to turn whatever spare limbs he had into weapons. Mifune was duly impressed. It was Spirit's rather unorthodox methods of training that had Mifune annoyed.

For instance: the way he insisted they end every session at the local tavern, Spirit dead drunk and laughing like a fool.

"Oi! Blair! Give Mifune a kiss!" Spirit said, and he pushed the damn cat into Mifune's lap.

"O-oi!" Mifune blushed a furious red and jerked upright. Blair grinned slyly, then cozied up to him.

"Oooh. Papa-san has good taste. Maybe Blair can get to know his new friend, nya?"

"Teme!" Mifune had practically pushed Blair onto the floor.

Suffice it to say, his relationship with Spirit had been rather...strained. Barely tolerated, in fact.

Now Spirit sighed, rubbing his eyes and staring forlornly at the trees in front of him. "If you're going to keep hiding, we'll never finish," Spirit said. Mifune turned, then shoved his knapsack against Spirit's chest.

"You can take these. I am done," Mifune said. Spirit held Mifune's swords and stared.

*****

Because Mifune didn't have any place to live, he and Angela took up residence at Stein's house. The female weapon he didn't mind - her cheerful demeanor brightened the otherwise bleak living situation, and Angela liked her, which was important to him - but Stein was something else entirely. Mifune found that out the hard way when he opened up his closet and found his entire wardrobe had been cut to pieces and then meticulously stitched back together.

"Kisama! My clothes!" Mifune said. Marie shook her head and Stein gave a comical little shrug.

"It was entirely by accident," Stein said. "I had noticed a seam was out of place. I meant to do you a favor, but...well I guess things got out of hand."

But it wasn't so much his clothes or the occasional invasion of his privacy. It was that Angela was terrified of him. His first night there, he woke to find Angela screaming. He grabbed her by the hand and headed toward Stein's door.

"What did you do to her?" Mifune said.

Mifune had thrown open the door to the lab, heaving. Angela was a wailing, crying wreck and Mifune was at his wits' end. "If you think you're going to cut her up like one of your damned rats--"

"I did nothing of the sort," Stein said. His glasses flashed. "She is much too small to dissect; if she were _older_ , however..."

"Teme!" Mifune said, drawing his sword.

"Wait! Wait!" Marie jumped between them. "No one dissected anyone," Marie said. "Not Stein, not I, no one. And Stein," Marie shot him a look. "Would you please stop torturing our new houseguest? His nerves are already shot! The polite thing to do would to be to let him rest!"

In the corner, Angela was inconsolable, crying and clinging to Mifune's leg. Mifune's eyes narrowed. He slowly re-sheathed his sword.

Stein grinned, then twisted the screw in his head. "I do enjoy having guests," Stein said.

****

"Hi, hi! Mifune-kun! How are you enjoying your stay?" Shinigami said.

Mifune's face was a careful mask. Shinigami tilted his head, comically. "That bad, ne?"

Mifune considered. It was certainly better than the Yakuza, and it was worlds better than Arachne's lair. And Angela was happier, which was important.

But then again, he woke up that morning to a coterie of strippers and Spirit-san waving in the background. Not to mention the strange scalpel marks he discovered on the underside of his arms

"It is...bearable," Mifune offered. "But, Shinigami-sama. If I may...I was told I would be teaching. When can I expect to assume the position?"

Spirit snickered. "You said 'position'!" Spirit said. Mifune glared.

"Do not mind him, Mifune-kun. That was pretty funny!" Shinigami said. Mifune sighed.

"About the position?" Mifune said.

Spirit howled.

"I am trying to have a conversation!" Mifune said.

"You said 'position,'" Spirit giggled. Mifune rolled his eyes.

"Mifune-kun. Regardless of your skills, you still are not ready to teach," Shinigami said.

"But why?" Mifune said. "I am an able fighter! I know all the basic techniques--"

"You cannot resonate with other souls," Shinigami said. "Mifune-kun. I understand this position is important to you. You love children. You desire to keep them safe. But if you are unable to do the most basic of techniques - namely, resonating with a weapon - then you still are not ready to teach. It is as simple as that."

There were precious few times when Mifune felt utterly defeated. This would be one of those times. "What should I do?" Mifune asked. Shinigami cocked his head.

"Why, keep working with Spirit-kun, of course!"

Mifune sagged, despite himself.

*****

That night, Mifune was so depressed, he couldn't even bring himself to greet Angela when she got home from school. He stared at the wall, turning his sword over in his hands.

"Mifune-san?" Angela tugged on Mifune's sleeve. He glanced over at her, then placed an absent hand on her head.

"Angela," Mifune said. "You are home." Angela pouted and pushed herself into Mifune's lap. "Did you have a good day?" Mifune asked. Angela nodded.

"We made snowflakes!" Angela said. "Marie-sensei showed us how to make origami and how to make them float in the air!"

Mifune suspected that was some sort of soul-molding exercise, and he wondered idly if he'd be able to make a paper crane fly, too. "When are you going to be a teacher, Mifune-san?" Angela asked.

"Not for a while," Mifune said. He rested his chin against Angela's head, cherishing her weight. "There is much I still have to learn. I thought perhaps I could teach martial arts, but apparently I am not even fit to do that."

"I wish you could teach me," Angela said, pouting. Mifune nodded.

"I know."

*****

Mifune was walking toward the training fields when he saw Spirit having another argument with his daughter.

"Why didn't you tell me? My only daughter, a scythe just like her papa! Oh! How could you keep this a secret from me? Maka!"

Maka scowled. "I am not a weapon!" Maka said.

"But Maka, we saw you," Soul said. "You sprouted blades just like your father - there's no denying it." Kid nodded and Black Star looked vaguely confused.

Maka gritted her teeth. "I am not anything like him," Maka said.

"But Maka--"

"No!" Maka pointed at her father, who jumped up from his seat. "That lying, irresponsible, heartbreaking, horrible person! He is nothing like me! All my powers I get from my _mom_!"

"Please!" Spirit said. "Maka!" And he fell to the ground, complete sobbing mess.

"Maka," Spirit said, and he covered his face with his hands. "Maka..."

"Oi," Mifune said, and quietly clapped Spirit on the shoulder. Spirit looked up, eyes red and sniffling pathetically.

"How about that drink?" Mifune said.

****

Mifune watched as Spirit tossed back shot after shot, a drunken, shattered mess of a man. "She hates me," Spirit said.

"You are mistaken," Mifune said. Spirit hung his head.

"She takes after her Papa--and she doesn't want anything to do with me!" Spirit sobbed, clutching the bottle in his hand. "My Maka, a weapon! I'm so proud. So proud, but...but she _hates_ me!"

Spirit sobbed again. Mifune poured him another drink.

"Just you wait," Spirit said. He tossed back another shot. "When Angela gets older and starts noticing _boys_ \--" his voice rose. "She'll hate you too!"

"Teme!" Mifune made a fist. "My relationship with Angela is nothing like yours," Mifune said. "I did not mess up her family. _I_ did not cause her pain!"

"You think I messed up my family?" Spirit stared at the glass, miserably. "Have I ever told you how I cheated on my wife? My ex-wife?" He swirled the bottle, blearily. "It was a _witch_ ," Spirit said. "A goddamn, seductive, evil _witch_! I was under her spell! But Kami didn't believe me." Tears filled his eyes. "She said witches exploit what's already there."

Spirit sobbed openly, collapsing on the table.

Mifune watched, quietly. It was true, Spirit was a bit of a flirt and a little careless with his alcohol, but he would never intentionally hurt his family. That night, Mifune practically had to carry Spirit home, hoisting him bodily over his shoulders and then finally dumping him onto the bed. He wondered briefly if Angela would ever turn on him the way Maka did her father. The thought of it disturbed him, and Mifune resolved to push it out of his mind.

*****

Angela was starting to get more distant. As the weeks passed, Mifune noticed she spent increasingly less time with him and more time with Marie or Stein. At first, Mifune chalked it up to the sway of magic - she spent her afternoons in intense therapy with Kim trying to suppress it - but as time went on, Mifune started to wonder.

"I'm busy!" Angela said, when Mifune approached her. She was lying on the floor, coloring.

"Too busy for your Mifune-san?" Mifune asked, and he knelt down beside her.

 _Just you wait..._ Spirit had said.

Mifune peered over Angela's shoulder.

It was a simple crayon drawing of three stick figures: a woman with a black and yellow skirt; a man with a white coat and a screw in his head. And in between, a little girl with a black hat and a huge smile.

"Where am I?" Mifune asked.

"You're not there," Angela said. "You're training with Death Scythe-san."

"...Oh."

He watched silently as Angela colored, and suddenly he was gripped by the sudden, irrational impulse to ask, "Who do you like better, Angela? Marie-sensei, or Stein-hakase?"

"Stein!" Angela chirped. She looked up, grinning. "He's funny."

Mifune's face darkened. "And who do you like better, Angela? Stein-hakase, or me?"

The air was thick and Mifune couldn't breathe. He waited for one agony-filled minute as Angela considered.

"Stein," Angela said, finally. "Because he's nice and he has a screw."

****

Mifune was not a man of easy emotions, but after seeing Angela draw the red-crayon heart over her makeshift family, he rushed out of the room, grabbing his coat and his bag and heading outside. Angela didn't love him anymore. Angela, who for all intents and purposes was his surrogate daughter, did not feel the same.

"I cannot stay here," Mifune said, to no one in particular. He stared up at the sky and gritted his teeth. "I do not belong. Perhaps I should just leave Angela here and go somewhere else. She clearly does not need me..."

"That's not true," Spirit said, and Mifune turned. In his frenzied state of mind, he hadn't even noticed Spirit had followed him out into the woods. "Soul resonance," Spirit said, shrugging. "Plus you're not exactly the greatest at detecting souls, so..."

"What do you want?" Mifune said. Spirit shrugged.

"Just returning the favor," Spirit said. "You look terrible."

"Thanks," Mifune said. Spirit clapped him on the shoulder.

"Come on," Spirit said. "Let's train. We can talk about it later."

****

Mifune was still clumsy when it came to resonating with Spirit. If his concentration let up even the littlest bit, his weapon grew heavy and burned into his skin. Secretly he envied Stein, who could resonate with anyone. ("He's rather promiscuous that way," Spirit said, mildly. Mifune raised his eyebrows.)

"Oi! Did I tell you, Maka started to train!" Spirit said. "Her weapon form is a Scythe, just like her papa! She started training with Black Star just a few weeks ago."

"I do not understand why a meister must train as a weapon," Mifune said. Spirit shrugged.

"Well, it'll come in handy if she's ever stuck with just another meister," Spirit said. "Think about it. What if Soul were to get hurt, and it's just her and Kid, or her and Ox?"

"I suppose," Mifune said.

They were training longer, now; Mifune's endurance was improving. Soon enough he would demonstrate his new skills to Shinigami-sama, and hopefully secure a position with the Shibusen faculty. As Spirit had assured him, Mifune's fears about Angela were wholly unfounded. Children didn't know any better, and when Mifune had come back from his silent meltdown, Angela was the first to jump into his arms.

He would fit in, eventually. He would just have to work at it.


	2. Habit

Mifune is a man of habit.

Every morning he will wake up and wash his face; he will pull on his shirt and step into his sandals. In his left pocket, he will keep a small pocket knife, which is handy in case he is ever surprised, and he will inevitably find himself chewing on a piece of grass, a long-ago reminder of the time when he was young and a woman once remarked that men looked handsome that way.

Like clockwork, Mifune will make Angela her breakfast, help her with her clothes and her bag, and walk with her to school; she will go to class and he will meet the other teachers in the lounge, and Stein will make a comment about wanting to dissect him: Mifune as always will politely decline.

Habit. Clockwork. His new routine.

He is not used to sleeping in a bed. He sleeps outside Angela's door, his katana resting on his shoulder.

He is not used to people coming up behind him. Sid finds this out the hard way: fortunately for him, he is already dead.

"It will take some time," Stein offers, kindly.

It takes a while before he starts to fit in.


	3. Skills

"You guys! Look! Stein-hakase is fighting that samurai!"

Maka looked up. The students were crowded around the observatory, faces pressing against the window. Soul jumped out of his seat; Maka rushed after him.

They were fighting at the basketball courts. A crowd of students had gathered, but the yellow KEEP OUT tape prevented them from getting close. Stein and Mifune were both without weapons, Stein grinning and Mifune crouching low. Spirit was standing at the corner, watching.

"Shinigami-sama said he would give Mifune a job if he beat Professor Stein," Spirit said. He crouched next to Maka, pointing. "Look," Spirit said. "You see how Mifune is avoiding Stein-hakase's blows?"

Maka squinted. It looked as if Stein was concentrating his soul's energy into his fist. "If it lands, it'll be a thousand times harder than a normal punch," Maka said. Her father nodded, gravely.

"Yes," Spirit said. "And Mifune-kun found that out the hard way."

Mifune ran, then leaped forward; he kicked but Stein blocked, countering with another punch.

"Mifune is skilled, but he's still an ordinary human," Spirit said. "Shinigami has had him train with me, but he still hasn't mastered using a weapon. He still has problems resonating with other souls, and while his soul perception is as good as a one-star meister's, that's still not enough to be a teacher."

"So that's why they're making him fight," Maka said. She squinted, watching the two men spar. "But how come he's not using his sword?"

"Because Shinigami said, 'no weapons,'" Spirit said. "If he could beat Stein on his own terms, with his own powers, then it will prove to him that he's fit, and that he can teach regardless of his soul abilities. But that doesn't look like it'll happen," Spirit said.

Stein's kick slammed into Mifune's chest, and Mifune flew backwards, slamming his shoulder against the ground.

Stein grinned, then slowly twisted his screw. "Done?" Stein said. Mifune gritted his teeth. His hand fisted on the ground.

He flung a fistful of dirt at Stein's face. Stein staggered backwards, his glasses coated. Mifune scrambled then picked up the first thing his foot touched: a baseball bat, one that some student had left lying near the courtyard.

"Uh oh," Spirit said, motioning. "Maka, it looks like he's got a weapon."

Maka squinted, and she could see Mifune's soul wavelength flaring. It was as if by holding that bat, he could better concentrate his soul energy. "Wow," Maka said.

"He's fighting seriously, now," Spirit said.

Mifune exploded, rushing forward, bat swinging wildly to the side. Stein dodged, once, twice, before the bat slammed into his face. His glasses flew to the ground.

"Uh oh," Spirit said. "Stein's going to get mad."

And Stein did. He reared up again, then pulled off his coat.

"What...?" Maka glanced up at her father, who was watching intently. "Papa, what's he doing?"

"You'll see," Spirit said. He nodded towards them. "Watch."

Stein sprinted forward, coat in his hand. He kicked, again and again, his coat waving behind him like a flag. Mifune dodged them all expertly, but his eyes widened. The coat came out from nowhere and slammed into Mifune's face.

Mifune staggered back, the coat covering him, but Stein grinned. The coat stitched close, and Mifune was on his knees, struggling to get the coat off his face.

Maka watched, awestruck. "He...he sewed it on Mifune-san's head?!"

"Just around his head," Spirit said. "It would have been easy for him to sew his feet to the ground, but Stein wanted to embarrass him."

Mifune struggled on his knees, the coat barely over his ears. Stein walked up and stood over him.

"If this were real, you would be dead," Stein said. Mifune tore off the coat and glared.

"And that's the end," Spirit said. He stepped forward and waved. "Oi! I'm calling it! Stein wins!"

The crowd roared.

Mifune glared. "Kisama..."

"Uh oh! Looks like someone's mad!" Shinigami-sama flew in out from nowhere, hovering just a few inches above the ground. "Mifune-kun! Stein-kun beat you, fair and square."

"But Shinigami-sama..."

"You are just a man," Shinigami-sama said. He lifted his large hand, then pointed. "If you learn to harness your soul wavelength, you may even surpass him, someday. But for now you are still not ready."

Mifune gritted his teeth. Stein stepped up next to him and offered his hand.

"Not just anyone can join Shibusen," Stein said. He helped Mifune up. "I will train you to be an expert meister. You will just have to learn to submit."

Behind the crowd, Black Star and Tsubaki came running. "Oi! How can a man as great as Me miss this fight?" Black Star said. Maka sighed, then watched as Black Star pushed through.

Maka turned, and started to walk, pushing past the other students who started gathering toward the lot. "He's a badass normal," one student said, and Maka nodded to herself. Once Mifune-san learned how to use his soul, he would be one of the most powerful meisters in Shibusen.

Maka couldn't wait. He would be an excellent teacher.


	4. Spirit

"She does not listen to me anymore," Mifune said. He hunched over, defeated. "I don't know what to do."

Spirit and Mifune were at the bar, drowning their sorrow in alcohol and women wearing cheap perfume. "My baby girl used to love her Papa," Spirit said. "Mifune-kun. I tried to hug her last week, and let me tell you what Maka did. She swung at me." Spirit's voice grew tremulous. He was nearing tears. "She wouldn't even look at me."

On stage, the strippers swung around the pole, their large breasts bouncing and the lights from the glow ball whirling frenetically around the room. Neither man really noticed.

"Angela said she hated me," Mifune said.

"Mifune-kun!" Spirit said.

"She said I was...embarrassing."

"You're not," Spirit said.

"She said I looked stupid, like Huckleberry Finn, and she asked me, why must I insist on wearing sandals, it's cold outside, and can't I for god's sakes cut my hair?" Mifune's face darkened. "I told myself it was the sway of magic, but we both know it is not true."

They stared dolefully at their drinks, the strippers gyrating their hips around them.

"They forget their papas," Spirit said, sadly.

"Yes," Mifune said.

Later that night, Spirit tried to surprise Maka with another hug ("Your Papa loves you!" "Get away!") and Mifune took a small parring knife and cut off tufts of his hair.

Needless to say, they were back in the bar the next morning.


	5. Spirit, part 2

Spirit had an idea: "If Maka sees a samurai using me, then maybe she'll be proud of me!"

"I do not know," Mifune said. He chewed on a blade of grass, contemplatively. "Shinigami has wielded you before, has he not?"

"Shinigami is a clown, with you, Maka will be impressed." Spirit thumped his chest, triumphantly. "She will know that the greatest Death Scythe in all of Shibusen is her Papa, and she will love me and admire me and we will be a family again!"

"I see," Mifune said.

*****

Maka and Soul were coming out of the classroom with Spirit shouted, thumping his chest. "Makaaaaaaaa!"

"Ugh, Papa, stop." Maka made a face, then promptly ignored him. Spirit's face fell.

Behind them, Stein and Marie were chatting. Spirit screwed his face tight, then pointed. "Oi! Stein!"

Stein looked up. Spirit grinned. "I challenge you-" and he pointed again, "to a duel!"

The student body gasped. Marie was pale. Stein looked up and slowly grinned.

Spirit clapped Mifune on the arm. "Okay, Mifune-kun!" Spirit said, cheerfully. "The best Death Scythe and the best samurai! We're sure to win!"

Except they didn't win, Spirit suffering an unfortunate nosebleed while Mifune manfully tried to swing his altogether too heavy and too cumbersome partner around, and burned his hands in the process.

"Papas never win," Spirit said.


	6. Excalibur

Mifune frowned, looking up at the craggy rocks and the charcoal gray sky. "This does not look safe," Mifune said.

Angela whined and tugged Mifune by the hand. "But Ox-kun said Excalibur was the best sword ever and you only like using swords!" Mifune sighed, inwardly.

"It is true I prefer using swords," Mifune said, swinging Angela up onto his back. "But I can use other weapons as well. It is reasonating with human weapons I have a problem doing."

"Ooh." Angela pressed her face against Mifune's neck, her little arms wrapping around him. "Well Ox-kun said Excalibur was good for meisters who weren't that good!"

Mifune sighed. Technically he wasn't a very good meister, so there was no use arguing there.

They descended, climbing deeper into the mouth of the cave. There was a dank, musty smell of stagnant water, and the only light source was from what Mifune could only guess were fireflies darting above them. "Look!" Angela said. She kicked at Mifune's shoulders, happily. "Fairies!"

They came across an opening, and large slants of light illuminated the sword. Mifune had to shield his eyes to compensate for the glare.

"Baka!" the sword said.

Mifune narrowed his eyes.

*****

"My legend started in the twelfth century. There was pie then. Everybody loved pie and would look at me and cheer..."

Mifune sat against the corner of the room, his normal sword by his shoulder and watching, silently. Around him, Excalibur pranced, its pointed nose twitching and swinging around his cane. "Of course, those times were the twenties!" Excalibur said. He thrust his cane into Mifune's face. "Never ignore the twenties!"

"I can't take it," Stein said. Across the room, Marie's face was pale and Stein was twitching, trying very hard not to rush across the room and do something Very Bad. "He keeps talking and dancing and so help me, Marie, I will kill him!" Stein said.

"Stein!" Marie said.

"That thing has no business in our house!" Stein said. (Mifune noticed how Marie flushed, as Stein said 'our' house instead of 'his' house. Mifune was observant that way.)

"But the child loves him!" Marie said. She pointed to Angela, who was laughing and clapping.

"More! More!" Angela said. "Mifune-san! It's the best weapon ever!"

"That's right!" Excalibur exclaimed, his cane swinging just inches from Mifune's face.

Mifune was used to making sacrifices. He would do anything to make sure Angela was happy.

*****

Dealing with Excalibur was no different than dealing with the Yakuza. Any Yakuza bodyguard will agree that Yakuza bosses liked nothing better than to listen to themselves talk.

"...and that concludes the fifth hour of my glorious lecture!" Excalibur said. Marie was trying her best to nod politely and Stein was on his knees, banging his head against the wall.

Excalibur bowed with a flourish. Mifune's eyes narrowed.

Yakuza bosses also demanded that their bodyguards walk three steps behind them. To Mifune that wasn't much of a change at all.

It was the Morning Greeting that Mifune couldn't stand.

"Ah! Ha ha ha ha! Ah! Ha ha ha ha!"

Excalibur and Angela did calisthenics by the window sill, stretching and prancing. "Where is my meister?" Excalibur said. He hopped from the window and landed squarely on Mifune's bed. "I demand my greeting!" Excalibur said.

"I refuse," Mifune said. Excalibur poked Mifune's face with his cane.

"I refuse to be your weapon if you do not greet me properly!" Excalibur said. Behind him, Angela's little face crumbled, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Excalibur really wasn't any different from a Yakuza boss. If Mifune thought hard enough, there were more embarrassing things he had been forced to do.

Stein would not stop laughing. The next day, Mifune forced Stein to join them as well.

*****

Spirit gaped at them, Angela laughing happily while Mifune trailed behind Excalibur, his face a practiced mask. "Why?" Spirit said.

"Because he makes Angela happy," Mifune said.

"Baka!" Excalibur said, and nearly whacked Mifune in the shin.

Spirit frowned. "Oi. That thing's annoying. You're really not that bad..."

"My ability to resonate with other souls has nothing to do with this," Mifune said. Angela giggled, chasing Excalibur around the room. "Angela enjoys his company, and so I put up with him for Angela's sake. It is not so bad, once you are used to it."

"I wish to have coffee in the morning!" Excalibur said. Mifune nodded, making a mental note. Spirit stared.

"You take orders from him?" Spirit looked incredulous. Mifune shrugged.

"It is not so bad," Mifune said. "You are right in that it is easier to resonate with him than other weapons; he gives himself completely to you if you follow his demands. It is not unlike the Yakuza, who always showed me favor when I did a good job."

"But why?" Spirit said. "I know Shinigami-sama is pressuring you to become a meister, but this is ridiculous!" Mifune stopped, then turned.

"Spirit, if you could make your daughter smile like that," he motioned toward Angela, who was clapping and giggling, "then wouldn't you?"

Spirit's face dropped; a little tear quivered by the corner of his eye. "Maka..." Spirit said. He sniffed, then wiped his eyes.

"Papas always make sacrifices," Spirit said, sniffling.

"Baka!" Excalibur said.

*****

Mifune was coming back into the room when he saw Angela coloring on the floor, completely ignoring the prancing white ant-eater dancing around her. "Angela. I thought you would be playing with your new friend," Mifune said.

"I don't like him! He's mean and he said you didn't live up to his legend, and I told him he was a poo-poo head!" Angela glared at her coloring book. Mifune glanced back at Excalibur, who was gesturing wildly.

When Mifune jammed the sword back into the stone, it was the happiest he felt in years.


	7. Hero

Perhaps it was because he had endured a lengthy stay with Excalibur, but Mifune found himself wondering about the boy Hiro.

There were a few things Mifune noticed: first, that the rest of the student body used the child as their communal errand boy, and second, that Black Star seemed to take an almost perverse amount of joy in beating the child up. "Ow! Ow! Mifune, teme! OW!"

Mifune had Black Star in a death grip, yanking him by the ear. "I thought great men do not torture the weak," Mifune said. He let go and Black Star dropped to his knees, coughing. "I am disappointed. I never would have expected this from you."

"Teme! It's our agreement," Black Star said. Mifune's eyes narrowed.

"Okay! Okay! I won't do it anymore! Mifune! Don't pull my ear!"

*****

After a rather lengthy discussion with Sid, Mifune found out that like him, the boy Hiro had problems resonating with other souls. "If he went to a normal school, he might fit in. But here he's too ordinary," Sid said. Of course, Mifune found that to be all too familiar.

So now Mifune was by the training grounds, watching silently as Hiro trained with a wooden sword. The boy's form wasn't bad; in fact, Hiro was technically one of the best student fighters Mifune had seen - the ability to resonate aside, of course.

"You are holding it too tight," Mifune said, stepping out from the shadows. Hiro stopped, lowering his sword.

"Mifune-san?"

"Here," Mifune said. "Loosen your grip, and widen your stance. A good stance is something a fighter can always fall back on."

They stood in parallel, Mifune and Hiro, and went through the basic stances together. Lifting the sword. Thrust. Moving forward. Thrust. Mifune was impressed with the boy's concentration.

Later, they sat on the curb of the courtyard, Hiro guzzling down a bottle of water while Mifune sharpened his katana, silently. "Thank you for helping me," Hiro said. He wiped his mouth with the side of his hand. "Everybody always looks down on me, since I can't use a weapon. So this was really nice," Hiro said. Mifune nodded, gravely.

"Just because you cannot resonate does not mean you cannot use a weapon," Mifune said. He unsheathed his sword and held it out for Hiro to hold. "I trained with my katana, and though it is not a Shibusen weapon, I believe it is an extension of my soul."

Hiro breathed. "Wow," he said. The blade gleamed in his hand.

"You defeated Sido-sensei and the whole Shibusen brigade," Hiro said. He turned the sword over in his hands. "Is it true that you're like me? That you can't use a weapon?"

Mifune tried not to smile.

"Hiro. If we apply the standards of Shibusen, I am no warrior at all," Mifune said. Hiro's eyes widened. "When the others taunt you and you feel alone, do not think less of yourself. A warrior's path does not necessarily equate the Shibusen one. And I can train you, if you wish."

"Really?" Hiro's eyes were as wide as saucers. "You would really train me?"

"If that is what you wish," Mifune said. He stood, then re-sheathed his sword.

****

The other students were laughing again. "Ha ha! Hiro-kun! What the hell are you doing, carrying all those swords?"

Hiro smiled. It was not a nice smile.

It was Kid who came across the scene: twenty students groaning and rubbing their chests, bruised and battered from the many blunt strikes Hiro had delivered. "Teme! What do you think you're doing?" Kid said.

"Have you witnessed it? My rebirth?" Hiro smiled and his katana gleamed; Kid noticed he carried five swords on his back.

Five was not symmetrical. Five was not symmetrical at all.

"You cocky bastard!" Kid said. He glanced behind him. "Liz! Patty!"

"Okay!" They transformed, two guns landing squarely in the middle of Kid's palm.

Hiro laughed, mirthlessly. "You honestly think you can defeat me? I, Hiro of the great Five Swords?"

"Black Star!" Tsubaki was running. "You need to help Kid! He's fighting Hiro!"

Hiro blocked the blasts. Once, twice, his katana flashing. Kid gritted his teeth. "Dammit..."

"HA HA! Black Star to the rescue!" Black Star came swinging. "Tsubaki! Shuriken mode!"

"Hai!" Tsubaki said, and then transformed.

Hiro grinned. "You do not know who my sensei is!" And he threw the swords, which landed hard around Black Star's feet. "I will make him proud!"

The sword slammed, metal against metal. Hiro grinned. He pressed down with more power.

"Hiro!" Mifune said. Hiro turned and found his master coming toward him. He yanked Hiro by the arm.

"Ow-OW! Mifune-sensei!"

"My apologies," Mifune said. He glanced back at Kid, then at Black Star, then dragged Hiro back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just think it's hilarious that Mifune and Hiro could be lumped into the same "failed meister" category XD


End file.
